1.      Two-minute sharing of successes since last meeting.

2.     Hire Education:  Job seeking skills training generally falls under one of the following topics:

• Know Yourself - both online and paper and pencil assessments are available, including CareerScope.  Click here for free paper and pencil assessments.
• Know the Market - library research tools, group input on local employment,and community networking techniques - looking up employer lists, wage, outlook, using OccuBrowse+,  and doing transferable skills analysis using OASYS.
• Market Yourself - resume writing, cover letters, job interviewing, selling yourself (and each other) using the fun and interactive SISTEM employability skills training program.

3.      Individuals ask for help through group brainstorming - feedback on goals, who to talk to for advice, job leads, self-employment ideas . . . .

4.      Goal statement for the following week 

Guarantee - there is no guarantee that you will find a job, although it is expected that most will.  We guarantee that you will have a support group, learn useful things for this and future job searches, and have the opportunity to develop a network.  The Job Club approach has been documented as one of the most effective methods for helping people find jobs during recession.  Some studies show that you are twice as likely to find a job through a job club than you are on your own.  John Reeves used this approach with vocational rehabilitation clients in Fairbanks, Alaska after the TransAlaska Pipeline - 88 percent were placed within 8 weeks.    

Cost - no cost except: please tell us when you get a job.

Confidentiality - keeping job club member names and shared information within the group is requested, but cannot be assured.  So perhaps don't mention the specifics of the perfect business idea or job that you are about to go interview for - or personal information that you would not want to be heard outside the group.  Fairfield is a small town.  But, there is a wealth of community information that can be accessed within a group, and a job lead that one person is not interested in might be the perfect fit for another club member.